Wednesday, May 31, 2006

 

Microsoft execs slam Sony Blu-Ray strategy

The war of words between bitter rivals Microsoft and Sony has intensified, with top Xbox Europe execs launching an astonishing attack on the Japanese firm's decision to include its next-generation DVD technology in PlayStation 3 as standard.

read more | digg story

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

 

Nintendo launches casual games sub-brand for DS


Nintendo has announced a new
sub-brand for its DS games that is aimed to appeal to casual games. The "touch generation" lineup of games will applied to non-twitch and "pickup and play" type games. This announcement is hot on the heels of the very successful "Brain Age" launch in April of this year.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

 

OLPC working prototypes demonstrated..


1st working model (OLPC)
Originally uploaded by Pete Barr-Watson.
Check out this Flickr gallery of working OLPC prototypes. There's some more information at Engadget as well.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

 

Xbox 360 Hack - claim

I suppose it didn't take too long for someone to figure out how to get "back-up"/bootleg discs to run on the Xbox 360 and bypass the security and authentication process at boot.

This process is similar to the process identified earlier this year for modifying the original Xbox's DVD drive which involved overwriting the drive's firmware with a "built in" security check from an existing Xbox game.

 

DVR service without the DVR

Time Warner is quietly rolling out a new feature on its digital cable service for home subscribers called "Start Over" which allows subscribers to restart, rewind, and pause television programming.

The service doesn't support on-demand programming as this feature is intended to be used with live programming, but its interesting to see DVR hardware based services placed on the network side of the operation.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

 

When flash mobs go right..

Flash mob stories tend to always end with a bit of chaos in order to get some quick and random attention. Here's an interesting story about a group of New Yorkers who got together and posed as Best Buy employees and invaded the Chelsea Best Buy store on 23rd street. The mob integrated the store and helped customers find their goods before they were evicted from the store.

Monday, May 15, 2006

 

Opera browser on the Nintendo DS

Although there isn't a formal release date for the United States or Japan, the Opera web browser for Nintendo DS project is moving along quite smoothly. It appears that handwriting recognition will be a big part of the browsing experience in addition to a tapable keyboard.

Here are some screenshots of the upcoming release. In addition, it appears that the Nintendo/Opera relationship is going deeper with the announcement of an Opera browser for the Nintendo Wii.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

 

Halo 3 trailer..

The Halo 3 trailer was dropped on Xbox Live yesterday, but here it is in full YouTube glory.


Tuesday, May 09, 2006

 

Warner Bros. to sell films via BitTorrent

It looks like Warner Bros is going to beat Apple to the punch and partner with BitTorrent to deliver movies and television shows directly to user desktops.

Rumors began swiriling last week that Apple was in talks with BitTorrent to possibly integrate BitTorrent P2P technology into future versions of iTunes (in order to speed up downloads of feature film content) and even possibly into Leopard for other file sharing purposes.

No start date has been announced by Warner Bros.

read more | digg story

 

Super secret xbox portable - rumor #48921?


In regards to the Microsoft topic that can't seem to go away, new allegagtions made by Dean Takahashi, author of the newly released "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked", claim that the 360 product team was divided into two groups once the system launched last November.

One group was assigned to focus on lowering the production costs of the 360, while the other was assigned to the secret development of a portable xbox unit to compete in the war for the next generation of portable gaming (ie: PSP2 and DS2) which is expected in the next 2 years.

More on this story can be found here.

Dean's earlier Xbox book entitled "Opening the Xbox: Inside Microsoft's Plan to Unleash an Entertainment Revolution, published in 2002, is a recommended read for those interested in Microsoft's foray into the console gaming marketplace.

 

MS confirms HD-DVD support

Microsoft has confirmed support for next generation optical video discs with an optional external hd-dvd drive.

The drive will connect to the Xbox 360's USB 2.0 port and take advantage of the 360's component video outputs to make a 720p/1080i video connection to a HD display. A launch date for the "accessory" was not announced, however, MS could "officially" announce the drive during today's (05.09.06) keynote.

HD-DVD support by Microsoft officially draws a line in the sand between MS and Sony who will support Blu-ray optical video discs with the PS3 (scheduled for a November 11, 2006 release).

Monday, May 08, 2006

 

The real ps3 controller

It's official, Sony has ditched the "boomerang" prototype controller for the PS3 which was revealed during last year's E3.

The new controller keeps the familiar design language of the PSX family of controllers but loses the cords. Its a wireless (via bluetooth) controller that also includes motion sensors for three dimensional control.

This leaves Microsoft as the only manufacturer without a motion controller..these are the consequences of being first to market.

 

Kotaku: E306: Sony Playstation Presser Liveblog

Here's the scoop on the PS3 announcements including the not-so-shocking, but now because its-real-shocking prices of $499 and $599 for the PS3.

Kotaku has the full scoop.

Friday, May 05, 2006

 

Price drop after first month of Moviebeam

Moviebeam, the Disney owned VOD service, has already dropped its price and its initiation fee after its first month of availability.

Often described as a "home solution to Blockbuster," Moviebeam promises on-demand movies which are delivered to your box over un-used HD bandwidth.

Customers pay a per-movie fee.

 

Yahoo! GO & Other PVR news

Earlier this month, Yahoo! threw its hat into the PC based PVR software ring with the release of Yahoo! Go.

Yahoo! is looking to offer customers an alternative to the media functionality offered by default with Windows XP Media Center Edition. This new software release follows Yahoo's recent acquisition of meedio. Zatz Not funny has a review.

In other PVR news, Tivo has finally launched Tivo Desktop for Intel Macs which offers photo and music support, but still no Tivo to Go service.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

 

The Urban Videogame Academy

In another story about the narrowing of the digital divide, Next Generationreports about the Urban Video Game Academy, an organization focused on promoting game design to inner-city and economicallly disadvantaged students.

Recently the UVGA held sessions at the University of Baltimore.

More about the academy can be found here.

 

I blog, you blog, and now your xbox 360 can blog too..

We are in the era of thinking machines. There was Big Blue who could play chess and some of you have Roombas and Scoobas to clean your home. Well, I'm taking it to the next level and I'm going to allow my Xbox 360 to blog about my activity.

360 voice.com keeps tabs on your Xbox 360 activity and posts it to a blog hosted on its site. It will detail your activity for everyone to see, and to take it up a notch, it will even publish a nice RSS feed for you, in case you forgot what you did.

Its a great way to think about what else you could have done with that time.

 

Voce - peasants need not apply..

Are you a mobile baller? a total playa who enjoys the finer things in life? if so, rid yourself of the commoners and get with the latest mvno to launch this year.

Voce is for those who enjoy the finer life of mobility. For a $1,000 initiation fee, you can roll on the GSM based (it rides on Cingular) MVNO and get access to special edition phones such as a custom Motorola RAZR or a Nokia 8801.

In addition to the initiation fee, you'll also pay for voice and data but you will have exclusive immediate "concierge like" access to private planes, conference rooms, restuarants and more. You will also get a new phone every year with a rapid replacement program.

Right now, the service is only available in LA, as it should be.

 

Nokia shipes e61 - Blackberry playa'


In the latest attempt of a phone manufacturer trying to take on marketshare for portable push email devics, Nokia has shipped the e61 after missing the originally intended date of mid-march of this year.

The e61 is loaded with features push email and other typical smartphone type services.

In addition, The Register reports that Nokia has cut a deal with iPass to offer wi-fi roaming. A symbian client will be released later this year to enable this feature.

 

Nintendo DS Lite - US Availability announced

Nintendo announced the upcoming availability of the svelt DS Lite for the US today.

It will be priced at $130 and available on June 11. At launch, only one color will be available which will be the "polar white" aka "ipod white"

 

new logitech quickcam - demo video

Logitech has launched their new Orbit Quickcam which is loaded with video effects and other features.

Here is a quick video put together by a new owner which showcases some of its features.


 

Silent recall on MacBook Pro batteries

Early MacBook Pro batteries are being recalled. Apparently this recall is limited to the first 2 weeks of machine quantities.

read more 

 

Trippy ajax (right click) search added to Wall Street Journal website

Try going to any article at wsj.com, selecting a word, and then right clicking (or ctrl-clicking on a mac). Pretty remarkable feature, especially for a mainstream news site.

read more | digg story

 

Massachusetts wants MySpace to raise minimum age to 18

Massachusetts called on popular teen social networking Web site MySpace.com to strengthen protection of children against sexual predators, including raising the minimum age for users to 18 from 14.

read more | digg story

 

Wal-Mart to sell 'build-your-own' computers

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will start selling build-your-own-computer components in more than one-third of its U.S. discount stores this month as it looks for ways to tempt shoppers to buy more than just low-margin food.

read more | digg story

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

 

ABC launches Lost ARG?

Rumors are swirling about a possible ARG based on ABC's "Lost" universe, and the rumors got a lot closer to reality last night as ABC ran a fictitious television spot for the Hanso Foundation and encouraged users to call 877-hans-org for more information.

A call to the IVR system prompts people to go to the Hanso Foundation web site where users are encouraged to interact to discover more about what goes on with Hanso.

For spoilers to the game, check this out

 

When Fanboys Get Excited

What do you get when you announce a product name change before the world's largest video game trade show? You get fanboys excited and they get to work with their home made commercials and marketing materials. Here's the latest Nintendo Wii (formerly "Revolution") home brew commercial.


 

Send a Text to an Xbox

Xbox.com has a new service that allows gamers to send messages to their friends via their xbox.

Gamers simply choose recipients from their friends list, type a message, and then its off to the recipient's xbox.

Is this a channel for one to one communication or an open gateway for brands to speak to gamers while they play?

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

 

Say Hi to Helio

Its up, and its running. Helio, the latest MVNO in the US market is up and running and taking orders for their sh*t hot phones.

Helio is going for the "baller" angle and is hoping to lure saavy, gadget oriented, data service obsessed, young adults to their calling plan with super sexy phones that they import and reskin from Pantech. Basically, if you are the "phone guy" in your peer circle, they want you.

Helio's partner and investor portfolio is filled with intersting companies including Pantech, Earthlink, and SK Telecom. Look for unique features including built in applications like moblogging directly into MySpace to lead the way along with a great, customized user interface.

The word on the street is that their retail footprint is not as big as they had hoped so they are going to need to drive adoption through word of mouth and reputation management.

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